Some good news about childhood obesity

So often we hear stories and read articles pertaining to obesity in a negative way: the number of preventable deaths indirectly caused by the epidemic, how many billions of dollars healthcare spends on it, and why our ever-distancing relationship with food as a society has contributed to its prevalence. There are countless initiatives, products, programs, and theories to help decrease our country’s waistline, and yet the epidemic continues to remain at the forefront of our health concerns.

Pawing through news and journal articles, I came across a rarity pertaining to this topic: some good news surrounding childhood obesity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the national public health institute of the United States, released a recent analysis indicating that obesity rates among low-income preschoolers in 19 states have decreased slightly, and 20 other states have remained at the same rates between 2008-2011 (Falling Obesity Rates NPR). The CDC has also provided a map (pictured below) of the country showing states that are increasing, decreasing and remaining the same in terms of childhood obesity rates. This study suggests that we have perhaps reached a tipping point for obesity rates, which is significant in the long run of overall health although it may not seem like definitive progress in the present.

There is work being done from all standpoints to get the rates of childhood obesity to stop climbing. Hospitals are offering support programs for breast-feeding, WIC provides federal funding to states for education and supplemental health foods, many employers have begun to offer professional development promoting well-being and healthy lifestyles, and doctors even prescribe fruits and vegetables for patients (Falling Obesity Rates NPR). Clearly, there are plentiful resources for families of all financial and social backgrounds that have not been available in the past. We’re beginning to see small yet tangible results of the implementation of so many initiatives.

I was part of a particular initiative in my position as an AmeriCorps volunteer at a food bank in Lansing, MI. Part of my service was to offer easy and affordable recipes using fruits and vegetables available at each food distribution. I also instructed free cooking classes and healthy lifestyles classes to low-income residents in an effort to educate the community on the health consequences of having a poor diet and sedentary lifestyle. I feel that these classes were a form of both primary prevention and tertiary prevention, since I was working with individuals of all body types. Some were learning about healthy lifestyles to prevent weight gain and comorbidities; others were obese and ready to take steps back to a normal weight.

The obesity pandemic in the United States has been a major concern for years. It affects our health, our quality of life, our healthcare costs, and our ability to work and prosper. Childhood obesity is an equally alarming issue in that obese children are far more likely to remain obese as adults. While we are far from solving the underlying problems of obesity in this country, it is a small but significant step in the right direction to see rates and percentages falling marginally.

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